


The Expulsion of Lysandra Black

by LittleMissGG



Series: The Prankster Chronicles [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Homophobic Language, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Marauders, The Prank
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 13:01:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20760770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleMissGG/pseuds/LittleMissGG
Summary: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs believed in the good fight and took it upon themselves to fight it.(Originally posted in May 2005)





	1. Chapter 1

“Well gentlemen. I believe this situation presents us with two options.”

“And what might they be Monsieur Padfoot?”

“The first, is we stand our ground, fight for what we believe in with all the honour and bravery we, as Gryffindors, are famed for.”

“And the second?”

“We run the fucking wind.”

“I see.”

“All in favour of the latter option?”

“AYE!”

All four boys scattered with remarkable speed. James bolted up the staircase to the right and was promptly followed by three of the Slytherin boys. Sirius laughed as he watched, punched the air screaming “Go on my son” before he turned tail and ran down the corridor. Peter escaped into a hidden corridor behind a statue and Remus rolled his eyes, sighed and took the staircase on the right that led down to the cellars.

* * * * *

In one week, three first years had been badly beaten up and across their faces, shirts, robes and skirts, the words ‘mudblood’ had been scrawled. The children, and that’s all they were, eleven year old children, ran crying to Madame Pomfrey or to their House Masters or Mistresses, but all of them were too scared to name their attacker. It was only the fourth victim, a Gryffindor, who confided the name of his tormentor. He cried on the shoulder of a friendly sixth year prefect who gave him chocolate frogs and showed him how to cheat at exploding snap and confessed, horror of horrors, that he had been beaten up by a girl.

The tormentor was a seventh year. Was a Slytherin (“Oh wow, big surprise!”). And was a member of the darkest of the dark families. Lysandra Black (“I’m so very proud”). And so the marauders took it upon themselves to teach this seventh a year a lesson, because they weren’t just scoundrels, they weren’t just in it for laughs, because there are rules even among troublemakers. It wasn’t right that first years should be beaten or humiliated or called such ugly things. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs believed in the good fight and took it upon themselves to fight it. 

And Prongs was fairly certain that it would impress one Lily Evans.

There was a club, a secret and slightly unwholesome club that met under the title of the ‘Advanced Potions and DADA Class,’ where membership was by invitation only and there were no teachers present. They met every few weeks and with increasing frequency as the rumours of a dark power began to seep through the castle. Remus knew about the class because he had, at first, been quite offended that he wasn’t invited to an advanced class. Sirius knew about it because he’d caught his little brother walking out of a meeting and had thumped him.

Lysandra Black was the head of the group, the leader of this little band of miscreants and bullies and she was without doubt a distasteful character. A distant cousin of Sirius’s, she had the Black family hair (slightly erratic, jet black), the Black family bravado and the traditional Black family values. Sirius remembered a Christmas a few years back when Lysandra had happily recounted a night out with her father where they had hunted and killed three werewolves. He also remembered how she had refused to speak to another cousin of theirs because she was a half-blood. After a little creative investigation (and Sirius’s trademark bribery) the Marauders discovered the date, time and place of the next meeting and set to work on a revenge mission.

Sirius raided his trunk and pulled from it’s depths a family photo album.

“That’s terribly sentimental of you Pads.” James had remarked, raising an eyebrow and flicking through a Quidditch magazine, looking for just the right kind of photo.

“You kidding? Baby pictures of half the Slytherins in this place? Knew they’d come in handy at some point.”

It took a whole weekend of cutting up old magazines (James’s Quidditch weekly, Peter’s DC comics and Sirius’s porn mags - Remus flatly refused to let anyone cut up his books) before the boys had enough material with which to carry out their plan. Peter and James (having the least artistic talent out of the four, and possibly the entire school) were in charge of pasting copies of Lysandra’s head onto carefully chosen images (burly Quidditch players, eight-legged monsters and naked ladies) while Remus and Sirius spent painstaking hours drawing specially designed pictures and sticking Lysandra’s head onto them.

When the night of the next meeting arrived James and Sirius followed a fourth year Slytherin to the meeting and slipped into the classroom under the cover of James’s invisibility cloak. They quickly found a projector set up at the back of the room and they settled themselves quietly behind it and waited for the meeting to begin. It didn’t take long, Lysandra stepped up to the front of the gathered students and a boy sitting at the back of the room locked the door.

She began her speech with a quote from some bloke called the Dark Lord, a rambling monologue of self-importance and bile, and Sirius selected a picture of his dear cousin in her best pink party dress, aged seven, pouting and throwing a tantrum. He snatched the slide from the projector and slipped his own, modified slide, into the slot. There was a ripple of laughter through the crowd but Lysandra ignored it and continued her speech. She talked of an oncoming war, a ‘cleansing’ of the pureblood of wizards, the ‘termination of the weak’. James placed a manipulated picture of Lysandra in a ‘freedom for werewolves’ t-shirt waving a rainbow flag at a gay-pride march. A few more people began laughing but Lysandra seemed to take it as encouragement.

It took her fifteen minutes to realise what the rest of the students were laughing at and by that time they had been treated to slides of Lysandra in all sorts of mortifyingly embarrassing poses; in nappies, as a topless and oiled (and male) Quidditch player, as a naked woman engaging in a steamy threesome with two men, as Catwoman and as Superman, a speech bubble rising from her lips and declaring ‘I will fight the evil forces, the world is safe!’ James and Sirius were nearly hyperventilating, laughing hysterically pressed together under the cloak and trying to stay silent. Lysandra stormed over to the projector and threw it at the floor where it smashed with a deafening crash. She screamed at the now hysterical crowd, declaring them all juvenile children and stormed from the room. Which was when phase two began.

As she stormed from the room Peter jumped out from behind a suit of armour and stunned her. Lysandra stood frozen, blank eyes staring unseeing at the wall as Remus stepped forward. With some quick wand work he managed to turn Lysandra’s long black hair ginger, glued thick bottle-bottom glasses to her nose and right across her forehead in big black letters wrote; ‘Werewolves Rule’. Across the back of her shirt he printed ‘I must not pick on first years or I will get what’s coming to me’ and then he wrapped a Hufflepuff scarf round her neck and pinned a ‘Nerds make me horny’ badge to her robes. Peter nearly cried laughing and was still in fits of giggles by the time he and Remus had reached the Common Room and joined the other two boys.

News of Lysandra’s transformation became the biggest joke in school. No teachers seemed able to turn her hair back, remove the glasses or the huge black letters on her forehead. She was seen at breakfast the following morning in all her glory and the four first years who had been beaten up walked around grinning like they’d won the Quidditch cup. The Marauders had definitely made their point and let it be known that they might, possibly, maybe have had something to do with bringing Lysandra down a peg or two.

They weren’t expecting word to spread so far or so fast and they definitely weren’t expecting to meet a large and loyal group of ‘Advanced Potions and DADA’ members on their way back to the tower after dinner a week later.

* * * * *

Peter ran down the corridor, took a sharp corner and emerged from behind the sleeping nun on the third floor. As he stooped to catch his breath, hidden partly by the serene statue, Sirius belted passed closely followed by four Slytherins (two of whom he was related too) all roaring in anger and waving their wands. Peter took a deep breath and summoning all his bravery he stepped into the corridor and threw three badly aimed hexes after the chasing Slytherins. Two spells met their targets and two of Sirius’s pursuers fell to the floor having been hit with ‘knee reversing’ hexes. Peter gave a squeak of victory and dashed back into the cover of the statue before anyone could see him.

* * * * *

Remus was clutching the map in one sweaty hand as he descended flight after flight of stairs. He could hear footsteps following him down and the occasional hex hit the banister where his hand had been. He yanked the parchment open as he ran, and on the third attempt managed to get the map to reveal it’s ink. He was being chased by two boys whom Remus was almost certain played on the Quidditch team and... shit! The third black dot was labelled Lysandra. He closed the map and hurtled down another flight of stairs as fast as he could, praying they lost interest.

* * * * *

James quickly decided that of the options open to him, choosing to go _up_ the stairs was not the best decision he could have made. He felt the cloak slipping from his pocket and quickly grabbed hold of it. He couldn’t just pull it on in front of his pursuers, it’d be too obvious that he had used it and he definitely couldn’t risk anyone finding out about it. He knew that he didn’t have very much further to go before he reached the top of the castle and he knew he couldn’t go up into one of the towers, there was no room manoeuvre. He chanced a quick glance over his shoulder; three boys, pretty thick set, also out of breath, at least ten steps behind. James took a deep, laboured breath, reached the next landing and turned back towards his pursuers. All three boys stopped dead in their tracks, seemingly confused by the sudden turn of events.

“That all you got?” He panted, hopping on one foot as he removed his shoe and then hopping in the opposite direction as he removed the second. The three Slytherins stood motionless, staring open-mouthed as James Potter stood smiling in just his socks. “I could keep going all day! C’mon then you pathetic brainless gimps!”

The three boys lurched forward as one and clambered up the steps just as James jumped up onto the banister and slid down the rail as though he were surfing. He jumped off the end, crashed into the wall, scrabbled to his feet and then legged it down the stairs, barefoot. His three pursuers stood dumbfounded as they watched James hurtling down the stairs they had just chased him up.

“Bugger this. I’m gonna find Lysandra, she went after that skinny one.”

* * * * *

Sirius wasn’t even sure where he was going anymore. He hadn’t really expected to be chased for quite so long. He was certain he’d started with four people following him but a quick glance over his shoulder confirmed he was now only dealing with two, his beloved cousin "Cissy" Narcissa and one of her most bloody minded flunkies named Dick. Humour seemed to have evaded most of his family tree.

He made it to the end of the Muggle Studies corridor and turned right, certain that it was three short yards to a hidden alcove. He was stopped in his tracks by a huge red and black flashing sign. ‘Out of bounds to all students by order of the headmaster.’

“Well. Shit.”

He was grabbed by the scruff of his neck and dragged against the wall. He head made contact with the stone with a crack and for a long second the only thing that filled his vision was the ugly, flushed face of Dick.

“Well, well, well, the great Sirius Black, stain on my blood, gets caught.”

“Ahhh Cissy. How’s Ani?”

“I suppose you’re proud of my blood-traitor of a sister? Andromeda clearly shares your filthy tendencies toward blood-traitors and muggle-borns.”

“Oh Cissy, you mean you’ve never wanted to try a bit of rough? Go at it with a commoner?” Dick’s grip tightened round Sirius’s throat and he grimaced slightly before winking at Narcissa.

“From what I’ve heard Remus Lupin is more than just common... he’s practically a mongrel.”

Sirius struggled briefly against the hand at his throat and growled. Narcissa just laughed and then tapped Dick’s shoulder and the man-mountain released Sirius’s throat. Sirius swallowed heavily and straightened up against the wall. For the briefest second he contemplated running again but Narcissa and Dick were standing only a foot away from him, regarding him through disgusted glares, aiming their wands at various places on his body.

“Now, how would the school react to knowing that the great lothario of Hogwarts was missing a certain... appendage?” Narcissa giggled in a sickly sweet girlie voice.

“Oh, there would be public mourning. Covered mirrors, girls in veils, black ribbons round the doves.”

Narcissa laughed more genuinely this time, shaking her head at her cousin’s bragging. She took a step forward and sneered at Sirius’s unconvincingly offhand posture.

“I think you’d be the joke of the school. Because everybody would know that you’d have to bend over and take it like a fag from Loony Lupin.”

Sirius tilted his head to one side, blinked slowly and then gave a truly diabolical smile. “Sweetie? I may be fag but at least that means I’m getting some, whereas I hear being a faghag can be a terribly celibate existence. By the way, how is Lucius?”

Narcissa turned, almost instantly, an extraordinary shade of red. Her mouth opened and closed a few times and Dick cracked his knuckles. 

And then Sirius disappeared.


	2. Chapter 2

James clamped his hand over Sirius’s mouth and pulled him down so that they were both crouched, covered completely by the cloak, and inches from the feet of Narcissa and Dick. 

“Shut. Up.” James breathed into Sirius ear. Sirius’s swallowed hard and tried not to breathe.

“Wha-?!” Dick was looking confused, staring round the corridor. Narcissa was fuming, staring at the empty space in front of her she reached out one shaking hand and brushed it against the stone wall. She laid her palm flat against the wall and pushed a little but when no secret passage appeared she huffed and stamped her foot (narrowly missing James’s little finger).

“Cheap, tacky conjuring trick. Come on, before someone comes.”

“But but...” Narcissa spun round and stared at Dick like she could make him spontaneously combust. He shrugged, gave the wall one last suspicious glance and then followed Narcissa like a good dog.

“I want to find that Lupin runt and _hurt_ him.”

Sirius turned to face James and stared wide-eyed at him. He finally let out the breath he was holding.

“Where’s Moony?” Sirius whispered. James shrugged and pulled Sirius to his feet and together the two boys followed Narcissa through the castle.

* * * * *

“Oh I really think I might be in trouble now.” Remus mumbled to himself as he felt his shoulder blades scrape against the wall. He was surrounded on all sides, three of those sides contained angry, fierce and rather large looking Slytherin boys alongside vicious and downright scary Slytherin girls. The fourth side was the wall which he was desperately trying to disappear into.

Remus had made it all the way to the basement and, using the map, had tried to find the trick wall that would take him into the kitchens. The only problem was every time he tried to read the map someone shouted, got closer, threw a hex. In the end he stashed the map quickly behind a picture for safe keeping and then ran blindly through the maze of corridors. He was certain he’d started off being chased by only three people but now he stood facing eleven students, all ready, it seemed, to inflict damage.

Lysandra stepped forward from the crowd and they all fell silent. She regarded Remus for a moment and then, in a flash of light he wasn’t expecting, she had bound him to the wall with thick, slippery rope. He didn’t try and struggle, knew there was no way he could get out, instead he took a deep breath and rested his head against the wall and held Lysandra’s gaze. She stepped forward, staring into Remus’s eyes and when he didn’t look away she grabbed hold of his chin in one hand.

“You dare to look at me?” She hissed, her voice carrying through the crowd who leered and cracked their collective knuckles. “You filthy little fag.” She released his jaw and then slapped him, her long nails digging into his cheek and ripping the skin. Remus felt the familiar sting of broken flesh and bit the inside of his cheek to stop from making a sound.

At such close range Remus could see that Lysandra had used a lot of make-up to cover the words still covering her forehead. The roots of her hair were still tinged orange and the bridge of her nose was bright red where she'd been trying to remove the glasses. He barely noticed one of the boys, Duncan - a massive sixth year beater, stepping forward and standing by Lysandra’s side as she whispered in his ear. When she had finished talking to him she stepped back to Remus.

“You will pay for what you did. No one messes with a servant of the Dark Lord and gets away with it.”

The first punch landed with a sickening crunch right into Remus’s left cheekbone. He shuddered and spat on the ground before turning back to face Duncan defiantly. Before he could open his mouth there was a streak of red light and one of the girls at the side of the crowd fell to the floor screaming, her skin covered in rapidly growing pustules.

“That.” Sirius said, stepping over the body of the fallen girl. “Was a big mistake.” Duncan, who had been about to punch Remus again, turned his attention to Sirius who was approaching like an oncoming storm.

“Oh yeah?” He said as he squared up to Sirius and clenched his fists. He was a few inches taller than Sirius and sneered down his nose at the smaller boy as though he were no more than a bug. In a lightening flash Sirius lurched forward and his forehead made contact with Duncan’s nose. He hunched over and then fell flat onto the floor, blood pouring from his nose.

“Yeah.” Sirius stepped over Duncan and reached Remus, waved his wand and released him from the wall and placed a hand on his shoulder. “James is with me. Don’t panic.” He whispered in Remus’s ear before turning back to the crowd. James was still hidden under the cloak and Sirius felt confident that the element of surprise would improve the odds of eleven against three. Remus took a deep breath and tried to figure out where his wand had gone, all the while eyes wide scanning for the next attack.

“You gotta tie him up to hit him? Oh you big strong boys you must be so proud.”

Another huge boy stepped forward and swung a well aimed punch for Sirius who dodged and kicked the boy in the leg. Remus darted forwards as another thick set Slytherin boy stepped forward and Remus murmured a summoning spell, spotting his wand just out of reach and hoping his wandless magic didn't let him down now. He grinned as his wand skittered across the floor to him and he watched as the boy who'd approached him looked shocked as the wand met Remus' hand and then he was hit with a hex.

There was a fierce yell and suddenly James appeared from the end of the corridor. He raced up to the fray and threw one punch towards Narcissa’s huge minion Dick and then fired off two hexes towards a girl in pigtails who was about to hex Remus.

Lysandra was the only one still standing. While James was duelling with three not-so-talented fifth years and Sirius was fighting like a terrier in a tight spot, Lysandra had pinned Remus to the wall once again, her fist at his throat as the slimy, tentacle like ropes twisted around him. She was flanked by two of the boys that had chased James up the stairs, Micheals and Yase, and they looked like they were ready for some revenge.

“You know...” Lysandra drawled, dragging the tip of her wand across the wound on Remus' cheek she had inflicted earlier. “A little birdie told me that you disappear once a month. That you come back all covered in scratches and bruises. One might, should one study your absences, think you had a secret Mr Lupin.” She leant forward and licked away the blood from the gash across Remus’s face. “One might imagine that you were inflicted with lycanthropy.” She whispered into his ear. “And should one be familiar with such a condition they would be armed with the knowledge that werewolves heal exceptionally quickly and are only truly damaged by the strongest of unforgivable curses.” She gave a playful laugh. “And of course silver bullets.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re deranged.” The curse came from no where. The tip of Lysandra’s wand dug into Remus’s skin, pushing between two ribs as she hissed ‘crucio’. Suddenly white heat and blinding pain were ripping through Remus’s body, he felt as though the muscles were being cleaved from his bones. His nails scrapped against the wall behind him, every limb strained to free himself. He screamed, screamed until his throat felt as though it had been closed and he spluttered, choking. He was dimly aware that as he thrashed his head banged against the stone wall over and over. Finally, _finally_ it ended and he slumped forward, panting breaths and trying not to cry.

From the noise of various hexes and punches a bloodcurdling roar erupted and Sirius Black exploded from behind three Slytherins. He knocked down two boys with one swipe of his wand before jumping over their bodies and tackling Lysandra to floor. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and held her head against the floor as he brought his wand down and placed the tip in the centre of her chest. His eyes were blazing, like a man possessed, a manic grimace on his lips.

“Let me make myself very, very clear. You ever try and do that again and I will kill you. I will hold you down and I will watch you die. You remember this moment Lysandra, as the moment I spared your life. And mark my words bitch, it’s a one time thing.” He climbed off of her and released the bonds around Remus’s body and held him but Yase grabbed him by the neck and shoved him face first into the wall. Remus stumbled to the floor, his blood pounding through his veins, his lungs searing as though on fire.

Most of the rest of the fight had stilled when Sirius had tackled Lysandra and now they were fast approaching where Sirius was held up against the wall ready to take a turn. IN the chaos James darted forward and grabbed hold of Remus’s hand pulling him free of the advancing crowd. He settled Remus against the wall just around the corner and pulled the cloak from his pocket, wrapping it round Remus’s shivering body. He squeezed Remus’s hand momentarily.

“No one hurts our Moony.” He whispered before pulling away and running into the fight. Remus watched hopelessly as James ran off, and then everything went dark.


	3. Chapter 3

“You’ve made a very serious accusation against Lysandra. Do you understand that she may be expelled?”

“Yes sir.”

“And you insist that you can’t tell me what started the fight?”

“Yes sir.”

“I’m very, very upset with you boys. I do not expect to see this kind of fighting in my school.”

“Sir? I’m not going to say what started the fight but it was eleven against three. We may be reckless but we’re not stupid.”

“Thank you James. I’m going to see Lysandra now and I will be checking the history of her wand, rest assured that should I find that what you have told me is true she will be expelled and taken straight to the Wizengamot. Now, I believe Madame Pomfrey wishes you to spend the night under her care so I bid you goodnight. Get some rest.”

“Goodnight sir.”

Dumbledore strode out of the room, his blue robe flapping around him, and James let out a long sigh of relief. He was sore all over, his nose throbbed, his chest felt tight and heavy and his face. Gods his face felt like it’d been stamped on... which was appropriate considering that it had been. Several times. He turned back to his friends slowly, pressing his fingers to the bandage wrapped round his waist protecting his broken ribs. He cast a glance over at the seven occupied beds at the end of the hospital wing, filled by injured Slytherins, and grinned.

Sirius still hadn’t moved, he was sat on the edge of the bed in which Remus lay unconscious and shivering, stroking his hand and rocking backwards and forwards gently. Sirius was a mess. His face was bruised and bloodied, swollen until he was almost unrecognisable. He’d lost two teeth, broken three fingers and two ribs, had his shoulder dislocated (and subsequently reset after screaming the most unholy things ever heard within the walls of Hogwarts) and his stomach was covered in cuts and bruises. He was wearing only regulation hospital pyjama bottoms and a sling wrapped over his shoulder.

Peter sat on the end of the bed next to Remus’s looking pale and shaken. Peter had finally found the other boys in the bowels of the castle and had saved James from two ugly bastards; one was holding him while the other punched him. Peter had kicked, bitten and hexed his way through the fray and then left James to save Sirius while he searched the hallway for Remus. Remus was slumped over and unconscious but still hidden under the cloak. Peter managed to find him and carry him all the way up to the hospital wing alone. He sat with Remus until Sirius and James finally fell through the doors fifteen minutes later holding each other up.

“Right gentlemen, bed. Mr Pettigrew? I’m sure I can find a spare bed for you if you wish to stay with your friends just for tonight?”

“Yes please Miss.”

In other circumstances Peter might have pointed out that while only three out of four of the Marauders were injured a whole seven out of the eleven Slytherins were in the hospital wing tonight and another one was on her way to an expulsion. Under other circumstances they would be celebrating, toasting their victory. As it was they were all in shock, horrified by the fact that someone could not only hurt Moony, their Moony, the most gentle Marauder, but could inflict an unforgivable curse. James crawled into the bed to the left of Remus and as soon as his head touched the pillow he was asleep. Peter settled in the bed next to James, closest to the door. He liked to think that tonight he was the hero, he had saved James and rescued Remus and should anyone sneak into the hospital wing to cause more trouble tonight Peter Pettigrew would fight them off.

Sirius seemed oblivious to everything around him. He was staring at Remus’s face, the new scar to add to his collection, and he felt the blood boiling in his veins, the anger and the hatred rising like bile in his throat. He had threatened Lysandra tonight. And at sixteen he was shocked to realise that he had meant every word.

It was only when Madame Pomfrey laid her hand against his shoulder that Sirius finally moved. He didn’t even notice that the bed next to Remus’s had been pulled closer so that they were almost touching. Sirius finally slept after tossing and turning, trying to find a position that didn’t hurt, trying to get used to sleeping without Remus in his bed.

* * * * *

Remus cracked one eye open and stared at the ceiling. He was getting rather good at locating himself by ceiling patterns alone. He could tell if he’d just transformed and was laying in the shack, he could tell if he’d been carried to the hospital wing, he could tell if he’d just passed out after three hours of mind-blowing sex. This was definitely not the latter. His whole body ached with a painful insistent throbbing pain, like a tooth ache only everywhere. His fingernails hurt. He tried opening his left eye and hissed in pain, his eyelid felt heavy and swollen. He lifted a hand to his face but found he could barely raise his limb at all. He gave a croaky groan and Sirius appeared in his field of vision. At least... it smelt like Sirius. His face was black and blue and a ugly shade of purple, his lip was split in two places, his right eye was swollen shut and his nose was at a very odd angle.

“Hey baby.” He croaked, his bruised mouth mangling the words. He found Remus’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“Wh-what happened?”

“Shhh... don’t worry. You’re ok. We’re all ok. How do you feel?”

“Like I got run over by a truck. And an elephant. And a plane. And then transformed.”

“Mr Black! Back in bed now! Honestly I don’t know how many times I have to tell you.” That voice was familiar, approaching from the side. Sirius looked up and pointed down at Remus which was when Remus noticed the splint and bandages around Sirius’s fingers.

“He’s awake.”

“Very good. Bed. Now.”

Sirius bent over and pressed his still bloody lips to Remus’s forehead and winked at him before climbing off the bed. Remus was dimly aware of Madame Pomfrey fussing round him for a few moments but his eyelids felt so heavy he drifted off before he could ask what had happened.

* * * * *

“So she knew?”

“Well, yeah. She said she knew. She said someone told her. But I mean it’s not that hard to figure out though right?”

“Yeah, but who would be paying that much attention to when your sick _and_ want to tell her?”

“I dunno.”

“I’ve got a pretty good idea.”

“What? No, no Siri! He wouldn’t.”

“Oh yeah? He’s been sniffing around us for months now and I know he was in that meeting Moony.”

“Severus wouldn’t do that. He just wouldn’t.”

“You don’t know that...”

Remus sighed and yawned deeply and pulled his blanket round him tighter. 

“You cold?”

“A bit. Just used to you being in the same bed.”

“One more night babe and we’ll be back to normal.” Sirius fluffed his own pillow and laid down, listened to the collective snores of the still injured Slytherins on the other side of the room. Remus snorted and closed his eyes.

“Normal... since when have we ever been normal?” Remus yawned again and settled down, within minutes he was asleep. Sirius lay still, staring at the crescent moon through the window opposite his bed. Someone told Lysandra about Remus being a werewolf, someone who knew she’d hurt him. Sirius was certain who that someone was, the one snivelling little geek who had been telling tales on them since first year, the same jealous little runt who had been sniffing round Remus with overeager interest for the last few months. Sirius glanced over at Remus, his eye still purple and blue, his cheek still sutured. 

That someone would have to pay.

* * * * *

“They’re ready to be discharged?” Dumbledore asked, standing at the door of the hospital wing.

“I believe so. James and Sirius will need to come back and have their bandages seen too but I’ve given them a few potions, they’ll be good as new in a few days.” Madame Pomfrey cast a worried glance over at the three boys wincing as they packed up their belongings while Peter chatted away excitedly.

“And Remus?”

“He’s still a little disorientated but that’s to be expected with a concussion as severe as his and suffering... what he did.”

“Indeed.”

“It’s true then? What they said?”

“Her wand confirmed that she had inflicted the Crucio. Sadly her parents didn’t seem to appreciate the levity of the situation.”

“It’s hard to believe... a student, a child, could do that.” Dumbledore laid his hand on Madame Pomfrey’s shoulder and nodded solemnly.

“Sadly Poppy I fear this may only be the beginning.”


	4. Chapter 4

By Thursday night all four Marauders were discharged and back in Gryffindor tower. They received a hero’s welcome, banners and flags, bottles of butterbeer thrust into there hands as several students started a rousing chant of ‘The Witch is Dead’. Sirius and Remus accepted a few handshakes and tentative pats on the back and then made their way to their beds. Peter was immediately flanked by Flora and Fauna, the twin sister girlfriends and James sat himself down carefully on a sofa with a hard-earned bottle of butter beer. Lily Evans walked over and settled down next to him.

“I hear you were in a fight.”

“Oh these?” He said, waving at his still black eye and cut face. “You shoulda seen the other guy... _guys_.” He smiled crookedly.

“I did. I counted seven, at dinner last night? They all looked pretty bad.”

“Right. Lily... I don’t make a habit of this. Y’know I don’t like fighting.”

“But you do seem to like trouble.” She murmured with a hint of a smile on her lips. James ran his fingers through his hair distractedly. “Listen, I heard what happened and I just wanted to say... that was really brave of you. It was a good thing you did - for those kids who got beaten up and for Remus.” 

Lily leant forward a little way, paused and then lent all the way in and pressed her slightly dry lips to James’s. She pulled back and smiled at him. “I’ll see you around Potter.” She winked and then walked away and through the door to the girls’ dorms. 

James stared after her for a solid minute. Then he jumped up from the sofa and punched the air screaming ‘WOO-HOO!’ and then sat back down heavily clutching his injured side and bruised face. Peter sat down next to him smiling.

“You see that Wormy?! She kissed me! Lily Evans just kissed me!”

“Worth getting your face stamped on then?”

“Totally.”

* * * * *

Sirius lowered himself onto the bed slowly and picked up the little mirror from the bedside table. He carefully looked at his appearance, taking note of every cut, bruise, plaster. He could tell he’d have a few scars of his own and his nose still didn’t look right. Remus sat down behind him and smiled at him in the mirror.

“Don’t you think I look sexy?” Sirius managed, his lips staying almost still as though he were practising a very bad ventriloquist act. Remus stared at him quietly and then climbed forward and stood beside the bed looking down Sirius. He tenderly brushed a strand of hair away from Sirius’s eyes and then kissed his forehead.

“I think you’re beautiful. Totally hot.”

Sirius laughed and then groaned and pressed an ice pack back against the side of his face. He laid back on the bed and Remus settled down next to him. The scratch on Remus’s cheek was healing, deep red and pink. His black eye was fading to a sickly yellow and he could blink without moaning. He had suffered severe concussion and the after effect of the curse had left him weak and a little disoriented. The two boys laid side by side for a while in a comfortable silence. Finally Sirius spoke.

“I’d do it again. All of it.” Remus nodded and looked thoughtful for a little while. When he did speak he held Sirius’s broken fingers lightly in his hand.

“I’ve never been so terrified in my whole life. I thought that was... I thought I would die. But what you did? They could have killed you y’know? But when I saw you, I knew I was going to be safe. I knew I would be ok. I’m not brave, like you and James, I don’t... I’m strong but I can’t fight. But you... you made me brave. I love you. I love you so much Pads.” By the time he had finished Remus was sniffing and blinking back the wetness in his eyes. Sirius ran his bandaged fingers up Remus’s arm and cupped his cheek. Remus placed a tentative hand against Sirius chest, in between a bandage and bruise and pushed him back against the mattress.

Remus followed Sirius down and then straddled his thighs carefully, legs spread ludicrously wide to keep bodily contact to an absolute minimum. Remus scrubbed at the tears on his cheeks with the heel of his hand and then lent down and kissed Sirius, slightly off-centre so as to avoid the cuts and bruises.

There was a patch of skin that was unmarked on Sirius’s right shoulder so Remus kissed him there, slow and gentle, his hands pressed flat into the mattress. The next unmarked piece of skin was just below Sirius’s left nipple and Remus spent a long time flicking his tongue over a little freckle just above his fifth rib. Remus trailed his lips over a bruise in the shape of a boot heel and kissed Sirius’s trembling tummy, right over his navel.

Remus sat up, and ran his fingertips gently down Sirius’s arms, drifting over the definition of muscle lightly. He picked up Sirius’s right hand and inspected it closely, taking note of the bruises on his knuckles and the scratches on the backs of his hands. Remus kissed each knuckle lightly and then turned Sirius’s hand over and kissed his palm, sliding his tongue up and tasting the skin at Sirius’s wrist. He could feel Sirius’s pulse quickening under his tongue. Remus laid Sirius’s arm back down on the mattress gently, as though he were handling something precious and fragile.

He moved down, shifting his weight carefully so that he didn’t knock any injured body parts. He kissed the top of Sirius’s thigh, just where his boxer short leg ended and then trailed a few open-mouthed kisses down the inside of Sirius’s left thigh where there were no cuts at all. He smiled when Sirius moaned and wriggled his hips minutely but he wasn’t ready yet, this was going to last, this was about showing Sirius just how much he was loved.

Remus sat back on his haunches and trailed his finger tips down Sirius’s legs, he lifted one foot into his lap and lent down to kiss Sirius’s big toe. Sirius giggled and squirmed away from the sensation and groaned when Remus kissed the arch of his foot. Remus was meticulous in his ministrations, kissing each toe on each foot, licking up to Sirius’s ankle and then his calves each lined with bruises where he was kicked. Finally he was back to Sirius’s (now tented) boxers. He slipped his fingers underneath the thin black cotton, tickled the sensitive and barely bruised skin there before slipping his fingers into the waistband and tugging them down slowly and flinging them off the bed with a dramatic throw.

Sirius chuckled and reached out to cup Remus’s cheek again. Remus nuzzled at that hand, whining happily in the back of his throat. He leaned forwards and kissed Sirius’s mutilated mouth again, along his aching jaw, down his bruised throat and over his bandaged chest before finally pressing a hard kiss to the tip of Sirius’s cock.

Sirius sucked in a breath and squirmed a little, his fingers coming to rest gently on the back of Remus’s head, not pushing just holding him. Remus kissed the trail of hair from Sirius’s navel to his cock, kissed the sharp point of a hip bone, trailed his tongue along the crease between thigh and hip, kissed Sirius’s balls. By the time he looked up Sirius was whining, pushing a little more insistently on the back of Remus’s head. Finally Remus relented, dipped his lips and sucked the head of Sirius’s cock into his mouth.

Sirius let a long drawn out ‘fuck’ escape his lips and arched his back, subsequently hissing in pain and clutching his ribs. Remus had been teasing him for so long that finally having his hot, wet mouth wrapped round his cock was almost too much. Sirius sucked in a few deep breaths and squeezed the back of Remus’s neck, pumping his hips slowly so as not to disturb his cracked bones.

Remus swirled his tongue over the head and wrapped his lips tightly round Sirius’s cock before sucking hard, moaning deep in his throat and making Sirius cry out. Sirius’s hips pumped a little more insistently, strangled moans pouring from his lips as he watched Remus intently, carding his unbroken fingers through Remus’s goldsilver hair before cupping the back of Remus’s skull.

Remus pushed forward and with one determined dip of his head slipped Sirius into his throat. Sirius screamed (like, Remus would later insist, a girl) and chanted Remus’s name like he was worshipping him.

Remus swallowed hard a few times before pulling away (before he choked - not sexy) and then attempted it again, gagging round Sirius’s cock a few times before pulling away. Sirius reached out and pulled Remus close, licking his chin before kissing him deeply. Remus pulled away breathless.

“You want me to stop?” Remus asked sounding only a little hurt, turning his head to lay a kiss against Sirius’s collar bone.

“I want to make love to you.” Sirius murmured, running his hand down Remus’s chest and finding the evidence of his arousal. Sirius fisted Remus’s cock a few times slowly until Remus looked back to Sirius and moaned.

“It’s... it’s ok. If you’re tired. Or... or sore... Oh!” Remus’s humble little speech was cut short as Sirius slipped his hand round to Remus’s arse and squeezed. He shifted, a little awkwardly, trying not to pull on bandages and plasters and cuts and bruises, but he managed to turn onto his side and pulled Remus down beside him, Remus’s back to his chest. Sirius slipped his hand to Remus’s front again, pulling gently on his cock.

“That feel good Moony?” Remus just nodded, breathing heavily and whining in a kind of canine way that Sirius just loved. Remus was pumping into Sirius’s hand more insistently now, wriggling his hips forward and back and then he started whispering little breathless pleas.

“Faster... tighter... oh yea... there... there... oh pa-ds!” Remus’s eyes fell shut all the way and he was suddenly assaulted by the sneering, angry face of Lysandra, her cold black eyes boring into him. He gasped and shuddered, his eyes snapping open.

“What’s wrong? Remus?” Sirius’s hand stilled and he placed a few tender kisses to the smaller boy’s shoulder. Remus slipped his hand down his body and covered Sirius’s with his own. He looked up and over his shoulder stared intently into Sirius’s blue-grey eyes.

“Don’t stop... please...” Remus guided Sirius hand into moving once again and laid, fighting to keep his eyes open and fixed on Sirius’s. The image of Lysandra’s cruel eyes faded and was replaced by Sirius, his battered face, his bright eyes, his earth-shattering roar as he tackled the evil witch to the floor. Remus felt a tingle in his spine, a tightness, like he would snap clean in half, only this time it was a good feeling. His limbs stretched, the muscles pulling as he climbed higher and closer to release. Every exhalation was a cry as he wrapped his fingers round Sirius’s, squeezing his cock tighter in both their hands, and he pumped his hips frantically.

Suddenly Sirius’s fingers were pressing against his hole, pushing insistently, slicked with something cold. Remus grunted as Sirius pressed two fingers in and twisted them quickly, still placing gentle kisses over Remus’s shoulder and neck. He pulled his fingers out and pressed the head of his cock against Remus’s entrance. Remus pushed his head back so that it rested against Sirius’s shoulder as Sirius pressed forward. The angle was a little awkward at first but it meant that Sirius wasn’t in pain so Remus didn’t complain. He ground himself back with a sexy little twist of his hips and Sirius groaned, nipping at Remus’s shoulder before licking away the bite. 

Sirius’s hand continued to work over Remus’s cock slowly, pulling up every time he pulled his hips back and he twisted his wrist with every down-stroke at _just_ the right moment so that Remus arched and cried out. Sirius had been close the minute Remus’s lips had wrapped round his cock and now he felt himself balanced on the very edge of his orgasm, with every wriggle of Remus’s hips, every whine, every plea he felt himself get closer. The tension started in his toes, then his calves, up his torso and into his back. It felt as though every muscle was tensing hard enough to shatter. Sirius bit down hard on Remus’s shoulder and came with an explosion of star behind his eyes.

Remus shivered and guided Sirius’s hand to speed up over his cock. Sirius’s whole arm felt boneless and he let Remus’s guide the action as he went to pull his hips back. Remus pushed back against him and squeezed his muscles, making Sirius hiss at the assault to his oversensitive cock. 

“I wanna come with you in me.” Sirius growled and began murmuring into Remus’s ear, sweet, hot little things that made Remus’s spine feel like it had been electrified, his skin was hot and tingling every where Sirius touched. Sirius pulled Remus’s head round and leant over and pressed their lips together, kissing all the fear out of Remus’s head. When they pulled apart Remus was struggling for breath and all it took was Sirius’s breathless ‘Moony’ and he was pushed clean over the edge. He cried out as he came, eyes crunching shut and all the air forcing it’s way out of his lungs in one ecstatic breath.

“s’ok... that’s it... I’ve got you...” Sirius leant forwards and kissed Remus’s slack mouth and pulled him close, their sticky bodies twisting together regardless of the fact that they’d be stuck together in a few hours. Remus turned over and breathed deeply, his face snuggled into the crook of Sirius’s neck. Both boys lay still for some time, their breathing finally evened out, their hearts finally stopped racing.

Sirius shifted uncomfortably and lent over the edge of the bed. He pulled his jeans up from the floor and managed to fish a packet of flattened cigarettes from his back pocket. Remus gave a disapproving groan but didn’t move from his position wrapped round Sirius’s body. 

"Just one. Please? Let the hero have his spoils."

"You didn't just have them?" Remus mumbled against his chest.

Sirius tried to laugh again but when it proved too painful he settled instead for carefully slipping his cigarette between his lips and lighting it with the tip of his wand. He let his head fall back against his pillow and he watched the smoke curling against the canopy, his fingers gliding slowly through Remus’s hair.

“I love you Moony.”

“Love you too.” Remus yawned and closed his eyes. Sirius finished his cigarette and stared at the top of Remus’s head. It was a long time before he managed to fall asleep.


End file.
